Tis' The Season
by kris932
Summary: In response to the challenge Christmas Time. Magenta on Christmas Eve goes searching for comfort from her past. She may have found it too...


It was snowing out. Not heavily, but lightly, the type of snow that in the morning would form the perfect snowballs for excited youngsters. A typical stunning 'White Christmas' unfolding right outside of the frost covered windows.

Naturally, the two-story house with the white Pickett fence fit in so perfectly into the snow. It was a scene to match one of those overly cheery and publicized Hallmark Christmas cards. The type that were made in mass production for this time of year. All in all most would admit it was quite lovely out.

Magenta hated it...

Well maybe not hate, but she certainly felt very lonely and on the verge of despair. She certainly did not like to see the beauty outside. It made her think of the past. Of that night...

Yet there she was standing in her friend Zack's living room starring out of the frost covered windows, trying to ignore the laughter and joy coming from the warmly lit kitchen. In fact she was doing such a good job at ignoring the background noise that she failed to hear Zack's approach.

"Maj...?"

Magenta turned to face Zack suppressing a deep sigh and a few pangs of annoyance. The annoyance quickly turned to guilt as she faced the fact that Zack was undeserving of her anger and temper this night.

"Hey Zack." it was spoken softly, but Zack could tell there was an edge to her voice that wasn't normal. She didn't sound like her normal sarcastic self...she sounded like she was holding back tears?

But before he could answer her and ask her what was wrong (after all the girl had only been staring out of the window for a few hours now) Magenta spoke again.

"Zack, I was wondering if you would mind if I went for a walk. I know you invited me over so we could spend Christmas together..." she trailed off.

Zack looked at her. She looked so vulnerable.

"No prob...Is something wrong? Can I come with you? We could talk if you like..."

Magenta only snapped at him.

"No! Alone if you don't mind." She didn't want to talk to Zack. He meant well put he never really understood how someone was feeling.

"Look," she said softly," I'm sorry Zack. It's not your fault. I'm sorry that I'm ruing your Christmas." With that parting statement she was out the door.

So as Zack stood there in the place Magenta had just left he realized something. He knew very little about the girl he had fallen for. There was something bothering his friend and only Magenta could tell him what it was.

* * *

The Paper Lantern, Maxville's finest Chinese restaurant (and a favorite hang out of Magenta and the rest of the Sky High gang) was just starting to close up for the night when Magenta arrived at the front doors. Thankfully she found that whoever was locking up for the night had saved the doors for last.

As she walked in she noticed that the restaurant in honor of Christmas had decorated. It looked quite nice too. Simple red and green lanterns hung above each of the tables. On each table was a small glowing white candle. Simple decorations, yes. But Magenta found them very refreshing compared to most holiday decorations.

She also noticed the very person she was trying to find...Warren Peace. Who happened to be looking strait at her with his arms crossed. Considering he was almost finished with work he could not have been too happy to see her.

Neither Warren nor Magenta said anything as the sat down across from each other. For a few moments it remained quite, the only noises being the radio softly letting loose a stream of Christmas songs.

It was Warren who spoke first.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

The pyro just looked at her incredulously. His expression clearly said: Explain why you are here or get the hell out! Magenta had expected this. There she was barging in on Warren's Christmas Eve. Of course he would want to know why.

"It's Christmas!" she started.

"Wow, Christmas...I totally didn't see that one coming! Honestly that surprised me, I had no idea what today was." Warren spat back sarcastically. He was still giving her that look.

"Wait...Warren I need to ask you something first."

"Hmm..."

"Do you like Christmas?"

Warren could usually tell when something was wrong with people. In fact ever sense Layla had first talked to him in this very spot, the whole gang always came to him to talk. So it wasn't hard for him to realize that Magenta had problems that the rest of her friends knew nothing about. Unlike Zack Warren was determined to find out what was wrong. He wasn't one to take no for an answer.

So he truthfully answered her original question.

"Do I like Christmas? Of course I do. I just love that feeling when I walk home after work to find my mom sobbing uncontrollably holding a picture of my father. I love knowing that he will never be able to come home to his wife and son. But what can I say Magenta? We're told by the world that it is the season to be jolly...right? Except, like me, you're just trying to survive the night. Why? Why don't you like Christmas?"

Magenta knew she had to tell Warren everything. After all she had just learned more about him in the last minute that the whole gang had in months. And it seemed that he would understand her.

"It has to do with my parents. You know that I live with my aunt and uncle, right?" she was shaking now. Her friends knew so little about her.

"Yah I do know. Do you want to tell me what happened to them? I take it, that it happened on Christmas Eve." Warren's voice was no longer sarcastic. Nor did he look mad at being delayed from getting home.

She nodded.

"I was eleven. It was the first Christmas my parents decided to stay home. Usually we traveled here to Maxville to spend time with the rest of our family. The aunt and uncle I live with now. But for some stupid reason we stayed home. Sometimes I wonder if it all could have been different. Do you ever wonder like that?"

"Yah...It's useless though, Magenta." never the less Warren looked a bit wistful.

'I know' she thought 'I know'.

"Anyway we decided to stay in our house in New Jersey for the holidays. It was just my mom and dad and me. About 9:30 tenish my parents gave the usual 'go to bed or Santa won't come' you know how parents are. So I went to bed. I'm not sure how long I slept. I've never remembered a time. Probably after midnight though. I'm honestly not sure…" Magenta's voice was shaking.

Warren admired that amount of control she was showing. He knew how hard it was to hide the full extent of your emotions.

"There was a noise. It simply woke me up. The house was dark; we had turned off all the lights. I was about to drift off to sleep again when I heard my parents head down stairs. It never occurred to me that anything was wrong. I though something had just fell or you know…so I got up out of bed to go see what had happened…" she started to cry. For a few minutes both of them just sat there. Magenta crying and Warren waiting patently.

"There was another noise. A shot. Someone had broken into the house thinking it was empty. I made it down the stairs in time to see my mom hit the floor and my dad attempt to shape shift. Its so useless shape shifting. I hid in my room in my guinea pig form for hours. They didn't make it. I don't even remember the following weeks very well."

* * *

She was still crying as Warren walked her back to Zack's house. It was late out and cold. There was no way Warren would let her walk alone. Secretly she was glad for the warmth Warren provided…in more ways than one.

"Wouldn't Christmas be nice again?"

Magenta just shook her head.

"Hey…" they had reached Zack's house. Warren carefully warmed up his hand and evaporated the tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Thanks." she said sniffing.

With his hand still on her cheek, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

"We will make Christmas nice again. Just me and you."

They stood together on the front steps, each with his or her own heavy thoughts finding some source of comfort in each other on that Christmas Eve.

And as Warren and Magenta found peace in each other, Zack looked on from the upstairs window wishing that Magenta had come to him.


End file.
